The Power of Kawaii
How Does Japanese Popular Culture influence Taiwanese Contemporary Artists?
Hsin-Wei Hsu
Intensive English Program
07/FA-ENGL-097-19
Thomas Healy
November 29, 2007
The Power of Kawaii 1
Introduction
Today, the Japanese cultural icons Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese popular culture, which includes comics, animation, movies, street fashion and toys, is internationally known and is becoming more influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own popular culture as the inspiration in their artwork and get positive responses. The most famous of them, Takashi Murakami, is one such example. He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has had a great influence, and has inspired many other contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture. This phenomenon is unavoidable; the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think this phenomenon is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed from mixed rourcess and Taiwanese people can accept different styles from other countries easily. The culture invasion also affects my painting which is influenced by Japanese pop culture. For instance, I use the flat style and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese multiculture.
Japanese pop culture
The traditional images of Japan has been the military nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, it's status has been changing. With the development of a tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture has become a huge power and now has drawn global interest. Pop culture such as manga (comics), animation and games is now becoming the symbol of Japan. Nakamura (2004), executive director of Stanford Japan Center reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the following points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; 'otaku', who are the obsessive 'maniac' comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less
The Power of Kawaii 2
regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". This phenomena happens in Taiwan, too. As well, Kelts (2006) reported that Japanese pop culture is full of animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, whose fame is based on cartoonish characters in his artwork is an example of "kawaii", which means cute in Japanese (Figure 1). Murakami unveiled his work "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibition in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e (Japanese traditional printing) and Japanese contemporary comics share the same characteristics: flat, delicate and detailed. Also, Murakami advocates an idea from the Pop Art movement, which is making art become more popular. Murakami was inspired by popular Japanese culture, for example, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy" (Phoenix, 2006). He combines art and commercial products, transfering his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to let the gereral public have more opportunity to buy artwork. However, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that art is business, and artists need money to continue making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing jobs and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to gain exposure.
The Power of Kawaii 3
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami
How Japanese pop culture affects Taiwanese culture
The Japanese, who are good at promoting their products, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which is located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend. Taiwanese culture is related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colonial culture. The most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is that it is a multiculture. Recently, the economies of China, Korea and Japan have been growing, which has created a cultural invation and Taiwan has benefited from cultures surrounding them. This appears most in the younger generation. For example, many youths follow Japanese fashion, wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style. Most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games. Some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Taiwan as they are in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
The Power of Kawaii 4
How Japanese pop culture and Murakami affect my painting
Like Murakami, I am also influenced by Japanese popular culture. Murakami as a Japanese, directly shows viewers the Japanese pop cultuer; I as a Taiwanese, show my viewers the influence from Japanese pop culture. I have enjoyed Japanese pop culture since I was a child. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those delicate, imaginative and entertaining products. When I paint, these enjoyable experiences become my inspiration, which discribe the relationship between reality and illusion. People interact with virtual worlds everyday, espacially using computers and games. Most of this virtual cartoonish characters in computers and video games are from Japan. I think it is interesting to consider this topic, as it relies on the Japanese pop culture invasion. My painting style is flat, like Murakami's superflat style, because of the influence from comics and animation. Using flat cartoonish characters can make my painting look like comics, which are humorous and make viewers feel fun and relaxed (Figure 2). In addition, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and commercial. I think popularity and commercialism can help each other. If art is popular, people would have more of a chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork is like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, the general public would understand more about art. I am planning to make my artwork into commercial products and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
The Power of Kawaii 5
Figure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops it into art that provokes the attention of the whole world. A culture invasion is unavoidable, especially the Japanese popular culture that occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead, I enjoy the multiculture. Taiwanese culture is becoming multicultural and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experencing different cultures and expressing my feeling by painting.
The Power of Kawaii 6
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global
Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami. http://www.saatchi-
gallery.co.uk/blogon/upload/2006/06/murakami1.jpg
Fugure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
2007年12月3日 星期一
2007年11月30日 星期五
Thesis paper 4th draft
The Power of Kawaii
How Does Japanese Popular Culture influence Contemporary Art?
Hsin-Wei Hsu
Intensive English Program
07/FA-ENGL-097-19
Thomas Healy
November 29, 2007
The Power of Kawaii 1
Introduction
Todays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese popular culture, which includes comics, animation, movies, street fashion and toys, is internationally known and is becoming more influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own popular cultures as the inspiration in their artwork and have positive responses. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, is one such example. He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has had a great influence on contemporary art, and has inspired many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture. This phenomenon is unavoidable, the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think this phenomenon is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed cultures and Taiwanese people can accept different cultural styles from other countries easily. The culture invasion also affects my painting which is influenced by Japanese pop culture. For instance, I use the flat style and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images of Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the develoment of a tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture have become huge power and now drawn global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animation and games are now becoming the symbols of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and
The Power of Kawaii 2
the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". This phenomena
happens in Taiwan, too. As well, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture is full of animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork(Fighre 1). His artwork is very "kawaii", which means cute in Japanese. Murakami unveiled his work "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e (Japanese traditional printing) and Japanese contemporary comics share the same characteristics, flat, delicated and detailed. Also, Murakami advocates the idea of Pop Art movement, which is making art become more popular. According to one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami was inspired by popular Japanese culture, for example, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." He combines art and commercial products, transfering his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to let the gereral public have more opportunity to buy artwork. However, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that art is business, and artists need money to continue making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing jobs and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to gain exposure.
The Power of Kawaii 3
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
The Japanese, who are good at promoting their products, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which is located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which is related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colonial culture. The most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is that it is a multiculture. Recently, the economies of China, Korea and Japan have been growing, which bring up the culture invation and Taiwan has benefited from cultures surrounding them. This is most appears in the younger generation. For example, many youths follow Japanese fashion, wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style. Most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games. Some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Taiwan as they are in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
The Power of Kawaii 4
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
While Murakami shows viewers the Japanese subcultuer, I show my viewers the influence from Japanese subculture. I have enjoyed Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those delicate, imaginative and entertaining products. When I do paint, these enjoyable experiences become my inspiration, which discribe the relationship between reality and illusion. People interact with virtual worlds everyday, espacially using computers and games. I think it is interesting to consider this topic, as it relies on the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, like Murakami's superflat style, because of the influence from comics and animation. Using flat cartoonish characters can make my painting look like comics, which have humorous and make viewers feel fun and relax (Figure 2). In addition, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and commercial. I think popularity and commercialism can help each other. If art is popular, people would have more of a chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork is like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, the general public would understand more about art. I am planning to make my artwork into commercial products and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
The Power of Kawaii 5
Figure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
The Power of Kawaii 6
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global
Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami. http://www.saatchi-
gallery.co.uk/blogon/upload/2006/06/murakami1.jpg
Fugure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
How Does Japanese Popular Culture influence Contemporary Art?
Hsin-Wei Hsu
Intensive English Program
07/FA-ENGL-097-19
Thomas Healy
November 29, 2007
The Power of Kawaii 1
Introduction
Todays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese popular culture, which includes comics, animation, movies, street fashion and toys, is internationally known and is becoming more influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own popular cultures as the inspiration in their artwork and have positive responses. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, is one such example. He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has had a great influence on contemporary art, and has inspired many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture. This phenomenon is unavoidable, the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think this phenomenon is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed cultures and Taiwanese people can accept different cultural styles from other countries easily. The culture invasion also affects my painting which is influenced by Japanese pop culture. For instance, I use the flat style and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images of Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the develoment of a tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture have become huge power and now drawn global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animation and games are now becoming the symbols of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and
The Power of Kawaii 2
the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". This phenomena
happens in Taiwan, too. As well, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture is full of animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork(Fighre 1). His artwork is very "kawaii", which means cute in Japanese. Murakami unveiled his work "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e (Japanese traditional printing) and Japanese contemporary comics share the same characteristics, flat, delicated and detailed. Also, Murakami advocates the idea of Pop Art movement, which is making art become more popular. According to one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami was inspired by popular Japanese culture, for example, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." He combines art and commercial products, transfering his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to let the gereral public have more opportunity to buy artwork. However, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that art is business, and artists need money to continue making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing jobs and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to gain exposure.
The Power of Kawaii 3
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
The Japanese, who are good at promoting their products, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which is located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which is related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colonial culture. The most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is that it is a multiculture. Recently, the economies of China, Korea and Japan have been growing, which bring up the culture invation and Taiwan has benefited from cultures surrounding them. This is most appears in the younger generation. For example, many youths follow Japanese fashion, wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style. Most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games. Some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Taiwan as they are in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
The Power of Kawaii 4
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
While Murakami shows viewers the Japanese subcultuer, I show my viewers the influence from Japanese subculture. I have enjoyed Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those delicate, imaginative and entertaining products. When I do paint, these enjoyable experiences become my inspiration, which discribe the relationship between reality and illusion. People interact with virtual worlds everyday, espacially using computers and games. I think it is interesting to consider this topic, as it relies on the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, like Murakami's superflat style, because of the influence from comics and animation. Using flat cartoonish characters can make my painting look like comics, which have humorous and make viewers feel fun and relax (Figure 2). In addition, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and commercial. I think popularity and commercialism can help each other. If art is popular, people would have more of a chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork is like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, the general public would understand more about art. I am planning to make my artwork into commercial products and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
The Power of Kawaii 5
Figure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
The Power of Kawaii 6
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global
Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
Figure 1. Kaikai Kiki News, 2002, Takashi Murakami. http://www.saatchi-
gallery.co.uk/blogon/upload/2006/06/murakami1.jpg
Fugure 2. HU, 2006, Hsin-Wei Hsu, 162x130cm
2007年11月28日 星期三
THESIS (3RD DRAFT) FEEDBACK FORM THOMAS
Hsin-Wei Hsu
[Please see the model essay, so that you can format this according to APA guidelines]
The Power of Kawaii [ Good title]
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includes comics, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally known and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own subculture as the idea [inspiration?] in their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, successfully deals with this issue. [But it’s an influence, not an issue…?] He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has had a great influence on the contemporary art, and has inspired many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think it [what?] is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed culture and Taiwanese can accept different culture styles from other countries easily. It [what?] also affects my painting which contains some parts [ you need to say influences] of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture ???? and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture. [You need to define and explain Falt]
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing [develoment]] of a tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming [check grammatical form ] huge power and now drawing [here too] global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming [here too] the symbols of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". [Remember the quote sandwich- you need to explain/ interpret this quote] Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls??? with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane. [But your essay is about Taiwan….what’s the connection?]
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced [is this the correct verb] "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e (Japanese traditional painting—This is not accurate. Ukiyo-e is a kind of printing not painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. [Be careful of sentence structure ]Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. [???] According to one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from as the Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial and transfer [verb agreement!] his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make people [can you think of a more precise, academic word] have more opportunity to buy artwork; [Should the next part be a new paragraph?] however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing cases and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to become famous.
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
The Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which is located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. [From what?] The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related [incorrect tense] to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is that it is a multiculture. Recently, the economy of China, Korea and Japan has [subject/verb agreement!] been raising, which bring up the culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. [“Suffer” is not correct.] The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. [This doesn’t make sense]. For example, many youth [should this noun be plural or singular?] follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. [Please rethink this. ]Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultuer, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I have been enjoyed [be careful of tense] the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those delicate, imaginative and entertaining products. which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I make [ can you think of a more appropriate verb] my painting, these enjoyable experience [please be careful of agreement!] become my inspiration which give me the ideas about ??? the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world???, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. [I don’t understand this part] I think it is interesting to discuss [ is this what you really mean to say? ] this topic, also, it [what does?] relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animation. Through Using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal ??? feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax.[you need to rewrite this, AND also explain more . Why does this artistic technique influence the viewers in this way?] Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more of a chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork [add verb] like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial [needa noun here] and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
[Please see the model essay, so that you can format this according to APA guidelines]
The Power of Kawaii [ Good title]
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includes comics, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally known and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own subculture as the idea [inspiration?] in their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, successfully deals with this issue. [But it’s an influence, not an issue…?] He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has had a great influence on the contemporary art, and has inspired many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think it [what?] is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed culture and Taiwanese can accept different culture styles from other countries easily. It [what?] also affects my painting which contains some parts [ you need to say influences] of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture ???? and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture. [You need to define and explain Falt]
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing [develoment]] of a tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming [check grammatical form ] huge power and now drawing [here too] global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming [here too] the symbols of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". [Remember the quote sandwich- you need to explain/ interpret this quote] Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls??? with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane. [But your essay is about Taiwan….what’s the connection?]
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced [is this the correct verb] "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e (Japanese traditional painting—This is not accurate. Ukiyo-e is a kind of printing not painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. [Be careful of sentence structure ]Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. [???] According to one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from as the Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial and transfer [verb agreement!] his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make people [can you think of a more precise, academic word] have more opportunity to buy artwork; [Should the next part be a new paragraph?] however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing cases and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to become famous.
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
The Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which is located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. [From what?] The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related [incorrect tense] to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is that it is a multiculture. Recently, the economy of China, Korea and Japan has [subject/verb agreement!] been raising, which bring up the culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. [“Suffer” is not correct.] The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. [This doesn’t make sense]. For example, many youth [should this noun be plural or singular?] follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. [Please rethink this. ]Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultuer, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I have been enjoyed [be careful of tense] the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those delicate, imaginative and entertaining products. which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I make [ can you think of a more appropriate verb] my painting, these enjoyable experience [please be careful of agreement!] become my inspiration which give me the ideas about ??? the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world???, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. [I don’t understand this part] I think it is interesting to discuss [ is this what you really mean to say? ] this topic, also, it [what does?] relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animation. Through Using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal ??? feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax.[you need to rewrite this, AND also explain more . Why does this artistic technique influence the viewers in this way?] Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more of a chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork [add verb] like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial [needa noun here] and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
2007年11月26日 星期一
Thesis paper 3rd draft
Hsin-Wei Hsu
The Power of Kawaii
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally know and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own subculture as the idea in their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, successfully deals with this issue. He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed culture and Taiwanese can accept different culture styles from other countries easily. It also affects my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing of tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming a huge power and now drawing global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming the symbol of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e(Japanese traditional painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. According one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial and transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make people have more opportunity to buy artwork; however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing cases and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to become famous.
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the economy of China, Korea and Japan has been raising, which bring up the culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I have been enjoyed the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I make my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. I think it is interesting to discuss this topic, also, it relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animations. Through using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
The Power of Kawaii
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally know and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists use their own subculture as the idea in their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami, successfully deals with this issue. He displays cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His flat cartoonish style has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists. As a Taiwanese, I feel a strong influence from Japanese subculture; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is unstoppable. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture was formed by mixed culture and Taiwanese can accept different culture styles from other countries easily. It also affects my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing of tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming a huge power and now drawing global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming the symbol of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, created cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e(Japanese traditional painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. According one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial and transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make people have more opportunity to buy artwork; however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he supports many young artists by providing cases and exhibitions which make them have more opportunities to become famous.
How Japanese subculture affects Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. They not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the economy of China, Korea and Japan has been raising, which bring up the culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; most comics in Taiwan are come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I have been enjoyed the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I make my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. I think it is interesting to discuss this topic, also, it relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animations. Through using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
Thesis paper 2nd draft
Hsin-Wei Hsu
The Power of Kawaii
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally know and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists express ideas about their own subculture on their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, creates cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His idea has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists which included me. As a Taiwanese, I can feel the influence from Japanese subculture storngly; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is nonstop. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture is a mixed culture that we can accept different culture styles from other countries. It also affect my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing of tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming a huge power and now drawing global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming the symbol of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, creats cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e(Japanese traditional painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. Accroding one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial, which transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make more and more people see and close art; however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he raises many young artists, which provide them cases for working and opportunities for becoming famous.
How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. It not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the power of Chian, Korea and Japan had been raising, which followed with culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; the comics in Taiwan are almost totally come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I had been suffered the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I am doing my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. I think it is interesting to discuss this topic, also, it relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animations. Through using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
The Power of Kawaii
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys are internationally know and have the cartoonish character. Besides, Japanese popular culture is becoming influential throughout the world. Many Japanese contemporary artists express ideas about their own subculture on their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, creates cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His idea has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists which included me. As a Taiwanese, I can feel the influence from Japanese subculture storngly; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is nonstop. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture is a mixed culture that we can accept different culture styles from other countries. It also affect my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese pop culturl
The traditional images about Japan were the militarily nation in WWII and an industrial country after the war. However, the status of Japan has been changing. With the developing of tremendous entertainment business, Japanese pop culture becoming a huge power and now drawing global interest. Pop culture such as manga(comics), animations and games now becoming the symbol of Japan. Nakamura(2004) who is an executive director of Stanford Japan Center-Research reported that "The characteristics of the Japanese pop market include the follewing points: children's purchasing power is strong; participation of adults in the market is large; "otaku", who are the obsessive "maniac" comic and animation fans, contributes significantly to market activities; and the fact that there is less regulation of sexual and violent expression in the media". Besides, Kelts(2006) reported that Japanese pop culture fulls with animation and cartoon icons. They appear everywhere in Japan such as the cellphone, ATM screen, billboards, train station and the airplane.
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, creats cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that Ukiyo-e(Japanese traditional painting) and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. Accroding one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial, which transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make more and more people see and close art; however, to join art and commercial together makes Murakami become a controversial artist. He asserted that use the art is commercial, and artists need money for making more artwork. Murakami has his own art making factory, called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he raises many young artists, which provide them cases for working and opportunities for becoming famous.
How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. It not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the power of Chian, Korea and Japan had been raising, which followed with culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; the comics in Taiwan are almost totally come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan. Through importing tremendous amounts of Japanese products to Taiwan, the Japanese culture comes with them.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I had been suffered the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I am doing my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. People who live in the reality world, usually get along with many unreal stuffs such as the virtual world made from computer, the 3D CG bikini girls in the video games or the giant horrible monsters in the animation. I think it is interesting to discuss this topic, also, it relies on the the Japanese pop culture invasion, because most of the virtual cartoonish characters are from Japan. My painting style is flat, which like Murakami's superflat style, because of the great influence from comics and animations. Through using flat cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Besides, I totally agree with Murakami's ideas about art: art should be popular and art is commercial. I think popularity and commercial can help each other. If art is popular, which everybody knows and enjoys it, than people would have more chance to purchase artwork or art products. On the other hand, if artwork like commercial products, which appear everywhere in our daily life, people would understand more about art. I am planing to make my artwork into commercial and developing different products such as stickers, toys and t-shirts.
Conclusion
Japanese pop culture is a huge cultural entertainment industry in the world. Murakami wisely uses it and develops into art that provokes the attention of whole world. Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset; instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture. Multiculture has been becoming the characteristic of Taiwanese culture and providing me the resouces and inspirations for making artwork. Living in the global village, I am glad to take the advantage of experence different cultures and express my feeling by painting.
Reference List
Nakamura, I (2004). Introduction of Pop Culture Policy (Summary). Japanese Institute of Global Communications.http://www.glocom.org/debates/20040302_nakamura_pop/index.html
Kelts, R (2006). Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., 207
Phoenix, W. (2006). Character Merchandising and Mascots. Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys
Conquered the World,79-87
2007年11月19日 星期一
THESIS PAPER 1ST DRAFT
Hsin-Wei Hsu
The outlines of my thesis paper
-Introduction
-Introduce Japanese subculture
-Takashi Murakami
-How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
-How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
-Conclusion
The Power of Japanese Subcluture In Contemporary Art
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys seems to become international and have the individual character. Besides, it has been becoming a huge trend to influence the whole world. Many Japanese contemporary artists express ideas about their own subculture on their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, creates cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His idea has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists which included me. As a Taiwanese, I can feel the influence from Japanese subculture storngly; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is nonstop. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture is a mixed culture that we can accept different culture styles from other countries. It also affect my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese subculture
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, creats cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that 浮世繪 and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. Accroding one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial, which transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make more and more people see and close art. Also, he has his own "factory", called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he raises many young artists, which provide them cases for working and opportunities for becoming famous.
How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. It not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the power of Chian, Korea and Japan had been raising, which followed with culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; the comics in Taiwan are almost totally come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I had been suffered the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I am doing my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. Through using cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Also, by using the figurative and cartoons, I want to show the connection between the reality and irreality. As the idea from Pop Art movement and Murakami, I totally agree that art should be popular, everyone should enjoys art.
Conclusion
Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset. Instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture.
The outlines of my thesis paper
-Introduction
-Introduce Japanese subculture
-Takashi Murakami
-How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
-How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
-Conclusion
The Power of Japanese Subcluture In Contemporary Art
Introduction
Nowadays, Godzilla and Hello Kitty speak not only Japanese, but also English, Mandarin and Korean. Japanese subculture which includ comic, animation, movies, street fashion and toys seems to become international and have the individual character. Besides, it has been becoming a huge trend to influence the whole world. Many Japanese contemporary artists express ideas about their own subculture on their artwork and have positive responds. The most famous Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, creates cartoon characters and vinyl figures in his exhibitions. His idea has great influence on the contemporary art, and inspire many contemporary artists which included me. As a Taiwanese, I can feel the influence from Japanese subculture storngly; this phenomenon is unavoidable, just like the culture invasion is nonstop. However, I think it is good, because Taiwanese culture is a mixed culture that we can accept different culture styles from other countries. It also affect my painting which contains some parts of Japanese teen culture. For instance, I use the falt style which is a characteristic of Japanese sublture and creat cartoon monsters in my painting. As a Taiwanese contemporary artist, I want to express the speciality of Taiwanese subculture.
Japanese subculture
Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami, who is the most famous Japanese contemporary fine artist, creats cartoonish characters in his artwork. Murakami announced "Superflact Manifesto" in his exhibitio in Tokyo in 2000. He asserted that 浮世繪 and Japanese contemporary comics have the same characteristics which were flat, delicated, detialed and implicated. Also, as the idea of Pop Art movement, he wanted to make art become more popularized. Accroding one study (Phoenix, 2006), Murakami inspired by popular Japanese culture, he said "Sometimes I feel like my work is an extension of popular culture. I think that as an artist, there is usually an element of examination. I enjoy connecting this fantasy cculture to more real discourses, such as history and art. This is also why I have tried to introduce Japanese pop culture to the world. Because it has many connections to concerns of undeniable relevancy." Murakami also wants to make art become popular, which as the same idea from Pop Art movement. He combines art and commercial, which transfer his unique cartoons on many products like pins, dolls, cards and vinly toys. He uses this way to make more and more people see and close art. Also, he has his own "factory", called Kaikai Kiki. In the factory, he raises many young artists, which provide them cases for working and opportunities for becoming famous.
How Japanese subculture affect Taiwanese culture
Japanese, who are good at promoting their productions, successfully sell their culture to other countries. It not only sell the authentic Japanese food, but also the animation, comics and toys. Taiwan, which located near Japan, cannot avoid the great culture trend from it. The history of Taiwanese culture is very complicated, which related to Chinese traditional culture, native Taiwanese culture and parts of Japanese colony culture. It is true that the most specific feature of Taiwan's culture is a multiculture. Recently, the power of Chian, Korea and Japan had been raising, which followed with culture invation, Taiwan has suffered the cultures from them. The most obviously facts happen in the young generation. For example, many youth follow the Japanese fashion, which wear Japanese brand and mimic the Japanese style; the comics in Taiwan are almost totally come from Japan, and so do the video games; some Japanese magazines and books even release at the same day in Japan.
How Japanese subculture and Murakami affect my painting
Murakami shows people the Japanese subcultur, I show people the the influence from Japanese subculture. I had been suffered the Japanese pop culture since I was a kid. I saw Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics, played Japanese toys and video games. I enjoy those entertaining products which are made delicateliy and imaginative. When I am doing my painting, these enjoyable experience become my inspiration which give me the ideas about the relationship between reality and illusion. Through using cartoonish characters can show humorous and unformal feeling, which can make audience feel fun and relax. Also, by using the figurative and cartoons, I want to show the connection between the reality and irreality. As the idea from Pop Art movement and Murakami, I totally agree that art should be popular, everyone should enjoys art.
Conclusion
Culture invasion is unavoidable, espically the Japanese popular culture occupies Taiwan. As a victim of it, I do not feel upset. Instead of it, I enjoy the multiculture.
the feedback to Hsiao-Ping's thesis paper 1st draft
Hsin-Wei
The Feedback to Hsiao-Ping’s Thesis Paper
1. As dining is a kind of popular culture in Taiwan, to reuse the historic buildings as restaurants could be a way to preserve and revive these buildings.
2. I think this thesis statement is effective. After I read it, I can get the main idea clearly. However, I think if you can mention more details such as explain “reuse” more, you can use the specific method to explain it.
3. I think the beginning of the easy is effective. It provides the general idea about the whole essay. However, I think the “hook” could be more interesting and you can talk some ideas about your method to combine the old building and restaurant at the end of first paragraph.
4.
(a). No! In the second paragraph “The Preservation of Historic Buildings in Taiwan”, you did not say anything about the preservation, there is only background about the historic building in Taiwan. But you did well in other paragraphs^^
(b). Yes!
(c). Yes!
(d). Yes!
(e). Yes! You did well, and I think you can explain more, which can enhance your idea.
5. \\( ‘@’)//
6. I like the paragraph about the Taiwanese eating culture, like Taiwanese like to go to night markets for having vendor’s food. I like to do the same thing, too.
7. I think every part of the essay is good.
8. What will you do if you want to combine the Taiwanese historical buildings and restaurants?? I would like to know the specific plans.
9. Good job!
10. You did not finish the ending yet.
The Feedback to Hsiao-Ping’s Thesis Paper
1. As dining is a kind of popular culture in Taiwan, to reuse the historic buildings as restaurants could be a way to preserve and revive these buildings.
2. I think this thesis statement is effective. After I read it, I can get the main idea clearly. However, I think if you can mention more details such as explain “reuse” more, you can use the specific method to explain it.
3. I think the beginning of the easy is effective. It provides the general idea about the whole essay. However, I think the “hook” could be more interesting and you can talk some ideas about your method to combine the old building and restaurant at the end of first paragraph.
4.
(a). No! In the second paragraph “The Preservation of Historic Buildings in Taiwan”, you did not say anything about the preservation, there is only background about the historic building in Taiwan. But you did well in other paragraphs^^
(b). Yes!
(c). Yes!
(d). Yes!
(e). Yes! You did well, and I think you can explain more, which can enhance your idea.
5. \\( ‘@’)//
6. I like the paragraph about the Taiwanese eating culture, like Taiwanese like to go to night markets for having vendor’s food. I like to do the same thing, too.
7. I think every part of the essay is good.
8. What will you do if you want to combine the Taiwanese historical buildings and restaurants?? I would like to know the specific plans.
9. Good job!
10. You did not finish the ending yet.
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